The automotive industry has been one of the leading innovators in the world throughout the last hundred years. As a leader in advanced technologies, automakers have consistently incorporated state of the art technology into the vehicles we drive. From the analog world of the early twentieth century, the automobiles of today have increasingly incorporated high technology electronics to provide enhanced functionality, ease of use, and ease of maintenance.
However, current battery technologies have lagged far behind this modernization curve. Little impetus has been provided to improve battery technologies beyond advancing some of the chemistry and physical properties within the battery. Nonetheless, as the myriad of technological advances have been incorporated into automobiles, the need for reliable electrical power has also increased—and the battery remains at the heart of providing that power. To supply that power in a more reliable fashion, innovative smart batteries and smart multiple battery systems have been or are being developed by automakers and battery manufacturers alike.
Devices like U.S. Patent Application Number 2005/0038614 Botts et al. shows a remote battery monitoring system and sensors in which a plurality of telesensors are connected to batteries in a battery string. The telesensors measure battery data such as voltage, current, and temperature and wirelessly transmit the battery data to a control and collection unit. The control and collection unit receives, processes, analyzes, and stores the battery data. Remote monitoring software running on the control and collection unit can be configured to provide warning alarms when the battery data is outside present limits.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,036 to Thandiwe, which provides for a smart battery that has a network communication interface such that the battery can send and receive battery-related data. The battery is in conductive and communicative interface with a device, such as a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or laptop computer, which has a network communication pathway that the battery uses for data exchange. The smart battery can alternately be in conductive and communicative interface with a charger that is interfaced with a computer, and the charger selectively establishes a network communication pathway through the charger-computer interface for the smart battery to exchange data across the network. However, the system does not provide for the communication of information exchanged with the network to include storage of battery historic information, such as warranty activation/validation data and/or warranty invalidating performance information, or for the selective enablement of the battery or features of or on the battery.
Similarly, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2003/0197512 to Miller et al. shows a battery analyzer configured to communicatively couple to a computer network in which a processing arrangement is configured to charge and discharge the battery of each of an at least one battery arrangement via a battery interface arrangement and is configured to initiate a performance sequence. Data communication between the battery analyzer and a customer service site is illustrated in and can include for example, usage, performance, and/or technical support information of the battery arrangement to the customer service site via the computer network. The centralized computer system may store the information in a memory unit for subsequent retrieval, for example, to graph the usage and performance information and/or to perform numerical analysis on the usage and performance information. However, again, no warranty information is stored, treated, or communicated between the battery analyzer of Miller, et al., nor is there any discussion of the enablement or selective activation or deactivation of features on or in the battery.
In addition, several testers have been developed that provide for communication of battery data to remote locations. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,151 to Bertness shows an electronic battery tester for testing a storage battery including test circuitry configured to provide a battery test output related to a condition of the battery. A memory stores an address of the battery tester, and communication circuitry transmits the battery test output formatted with the battery tester address on a communication link to a remote location. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,784,637 to Raichle et al. shows a method and apparatus that allows a battery charger/tester to store and retrieve information from a storage media. Information, such as the result of the charge and testing of the battery, can be stored on the storage media. Additionally, information, such as firmware updates, can be uploaded from the storage media. And again, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2006/0006876 shows an electronic battery tester and method that includes generating battery test data from an electronic battery test. The battery test data is transmitted over a wireless communication medium. In another aspect, a method and apparatus is provided for receiving battery test data from a wireless communication medium. Also, a diagnostic battery charger is also provided, which is capable of transmitting battery condition information to an external receiver. Yet still, no specific discussion of warranty information is suggested in any of these references as being transmitted and stored for tracking warranty related claims, nor is there any discussion of selective activation or deactivation of features on or in the battery.
These improved technologies come with every increasing costs to both the customer and the manufacturer. As the batteries become more advanced, the replacement costs for meeting warranty obligations for manufacturers increases. Moreover, the cost of recalls and failures in designs that might reduce battery life make this replacement cost even greater. Additionally, smart batteries will increasingly provide a wider and wider range of functionality and become more feature rich. A system for providing control over the software and hardware enablement of the batteries is needed.
Therefore, there exists a need to provide a system whereby information can be programmed into a smart battery and this information can be centrally stored for use by maintenance providers and manufacturers.
There exists a further need to provide an onboard programmable component of a smart battery that is capable of both receiving data at point of sale and receiving data at point of maintenance while also allowing for communication of this data to a centralized data network. Additionally, in receiving this data, the smart battery must be capable of disabling and/or enabling both software and hardware on the battery.